"I was always so jealous": Purdue HC Matt Painter opens up about team's Final Four struggles amid first berth in 44 years

Purdue men's basketball coach Matt Painter has led the Boilermakers to their first Final Four appearance in 44 years.

Led by star player Zach Edey, the school has had a strong season. After narrowly losing to the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, the Boilermakers have cruised through the NCAA Tournament. They have set up a Final Four showdown on Saturday against the No. 11-seeded NC State Wolfpack, who have been on a Cinderella run since the ACC Tournament.

In the run-up to the game and Purdue's first Final Four appearance in over four decades, Painter said:

"I'd go to the games, and I really didn't want to go to the games but I'd always go to the games just to watch it. I was always so jealous."

If Painter's Purdue reaches the championship game, the school will meet either the No. 4-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide or the defending national champions, the UConn Huskies.

This will be the Boilermakers' third appearance in the Final Four and their first appearance since 1980.

During that tournament, Purdue defeated stronger opponents like St. John's, Duke and in-state rivals, the Indiana Hoosiers, on their way to the Final Four, where the program lost to the UCLA Bruins.

The Boilermakers have made the national championship game only once, in 1969, when they again lost to UCLA. On Saturday evening, they could make their second championship game and be one win away from their first national title.

Matt Painter and his coaching career

Matt Painter, 53, is an alumnus of Purdue University. During his time as a student, Painter played basketball as a point guard for the Boilermakers for one season, where he led the team in assists.

His coaching career began soon after he graduated, becoming the assistant coach for the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents, a Division III program.

For the next 10 years, Matt Painter moved around assistant coaching jobs before becoming the head coach of Southern Illinois for one season. During that year, he led the program to the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and then a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where the Salukis fell in the first stage to Alabama.

Painter joined the Boilermakers in 2005 and has stayed in the head coaching role ever since. During his nearly 20-year stint, he has led Purdue to two Big Ten championships and has made the NCAA Tournament in the majority of years.

But he has never made the Final Four stage in any of his appearances. Tonight, Matt Painter has the chance to change this and lead the Purdue Boilermakers to the national championship game.

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